Name: Pan-Seared Cod with Herb Butter Sauce
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 4 boneless, skinless thick fish fillets (see note); Salt and pepper; 3 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1 shallot , minced; 1/2 cup white wine; 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest from 1 lemon; 1 tablespoon lemon juice from 1 lemon; 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme; 4 tablespoons unsalted butter , cut into 4 pieces; 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

Why This Recipe Works

Using the same skillet throughout made for easy cleanup and also built layers of flavor in our Pan-Seared Cod with Herb Butter Sauce recipe. When selecting our fish, we found it was important to find fresh fillets of uniform size, between 3/4 and 1 inch thick. Fillets more than an inch thick required both stovetop and oven cooking. Also, any fish of comparable thickness could be substituted for the cod, but grouper, haddock, and hake are most similar to cod in flavor.

When preparing the sauce for our cod, cutting the butter into smaller pieces allowed it to melt more quickly—which prevented the fish from becoming cold while we finished the sauce.

Before You Begin

Use 3/4- to 1-inch-thick pieces of cod, each weighing about 6 ounces. Any variety of skinless fish fillets of comparable thickness can be substituted for the cod.

Instructions

Place flour in shallow dish. Pat fish dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Coat fish lightly with flour.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Cook fillets until golden and thickest part of fillets flake easily, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to platter and tent with foil. Wipe out skillet.

Add remaining oil and shallot to empty pan and cook until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, and thyme and simmer until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter and parsley. Season sauce with salt and pepper and pour over cod. Serve.